All eyes will be on Justice Elena Kagan on Monday, when the Supreme
Court considers a copyright case that some fear could prevent people
from reselling certain products they own such as the iPhone, as she may
have the deciding vote.
In a case that tests the boundaries of copyright law, merchants and consumers say they have the right to resell what they own, but content creators argue they should be protected from shady deals that undercut retail prices.
The case, Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, calls into question the first-sale doctrine, a rule in copyright law that allows the owner of any particular product to resell it. The principle behind it is that the manufacturer controls only the original sale of each copy. But the Supreme Court is considering an exception for products made overseas.
That means you could be stuck with everything from your outdated smartphone to the beat-up clunker you drive to the raggedy clothes you’ve out grown, if it’s made in China, or India, or anywhere else.
Most of the Supreme Court justices have made up their minds on similar cases in the past, and are split on this issue, experts say, but it will be the first such case Justice Kagan, who was nominated by President Obama, gets to consider as a member of the court.
In a case that tests the boundaries of copyright law, merchants and consumers say they have the right to resell what they own, but content creators argue they should be protected from shady deals that undercut retail prices.
The case, Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, calls into question the first-sale doctrine, a rule in copyright law that allows the owner of any particular product to resell it. The principle behind it is that the manufacturer controls only the original sale of each copy. But the Supreme Court is considering an exception for products made overseas.
That means you could be stuck with everything from your outdated smartphone to the beat-up clunker you drive to the raggedy clothes you’ve out grown, if it’s made in China, or India, or anywhere else.
Most of the Supreme Court justices have made up their minds on similar cases in the past, and are split on this issue, experts say, but it will be the first such case Justice Kagan, who was nominated by President Obama, gets to consider as a member of the court.
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